Amazon Reportedly Testing Monthly Pricing for Prime

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Amazon(AMZN) is reportedly testing a monthly subscription for its Amazon Prime service, as it seeks to take on Netflix(NFLX) , Hulu and others in a more direct route.

The story was first reported in the Netflix-based blog, Hacking Netflix. Amazon will price its Prime service at $7.99 per month, putting it head-to-head with the cheapest Netflix plan. Currently, Amazon Prime costs $79 per year. A cost of $7.99 per month would cost users $95.88 per year if they were to pay month-to-month.

The story shows a screen shot of Amazon's Web site with the $7.99 per month charge, but a current look at Amazon's Web site shows the monthly pricing model has been removed.

Amazon, which has been expanding its content for the Prime service to take on Netflix and Hulu, also offers free two-day shipping with the Prime service.

The Seattle-based online retailer recently reported third-quarter earnings which did not live up to Wall Street's expectations. Amazon lost 60 cents a share, including a 37-cent impairment charge for its investment in Living Social, on $13.81 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 8 cents a share in the September-ended period on revenue of $13.92 billion.

Amazon also recently signed a deal with rival Staples(SPLS) to place Amazon lockers in Staples' U.S. stores, as Amazon continues to build out its physical presence.

Shares of Amazon were slightly lower in premarket trading Tuesday, off 0.1% to $234.10.

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